Integrated Annual Report 2020
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Integrated Annual Report 2020 5 Of the sustainable change within a company, setting the course in a year full of uncertainties and the best chance for a vision to Dear Readers! become reality. This Annual Report is divided into three sec- tions. Separate and yet forming parts of the whole, they invite you to discover the Integrat- ed Annual Report 2020. Happy Reading! 7 10 Foreword 16 Organisational Chart 18 Our Finances 62 Our Visions 76 Our Products 128 Our People 144 Our Partners 156 Our Environment 178 The Generational Change 180 The new CEO introduces himself 182 The Interview 188 The new Management Team 8 Change 10 Foreword 16 Organisational Chart 18 Our Finances 10 Foreword Dr. Andreas J. Ludwig, Chief Executive Officer Umdasch Group 12 13 Active or reactive? Decisive or participatory? As a reaction to the long weeks of standstill on umdasch The Store Makers also acquired new Let me make one thing clear at the outset: construction sites throughout the world, we customers and an exceptionally competitive pro- had to reduce production capacity in Austria. In duction facility during 2020 by means of a majority There is no “either/or” in this matter. Change Russia we even stopped production entirely for investment in the Turkish shopfitters Madosan. a while. Short-time working was an important The company specialises in metal and heavy-duty knows no opposing parties, no principles and instrument for us, especially in Austria. In view of shelving and thus offers a perfect addition to the the gloomy prognoses in the spring, which pre- product portfolio of our Leibnitz location. no rigid lack of compromise. Exclusivity would dicted a sizable double-figure reduction in reve- Our third corporate subsidiary, Umdasch nues not only in 2020, but also in 2021, Doka had Group Ventures, also embarked on a new par- mean blocking access to any other route. to reduce its workforce worldwide. Worst hit was ticipation during 2020: by investing in the Graz- our headquarters in Amstetten, where we had to based start-up shopreme – a technology com- And change cannot afford that. It flourishes part with some 250 employees. That is a painful pany which focuses on the digitalisation of the step for any company. Nonetheless, not least as bricks-and-mortar shopping process. on openness and curiosity. And participation: a result of the extremely cooperative collabora- So you see, dear readers, that we have not tion between management and works council been idle. We acted reactively in the face of cir- change gladly invites others to join in the jour- in Amstetten, we arrived at mutually agreement cumstances and have also reacted actively to solutions in all cases and did not have to dismiss the opportunities which have opened up for us. ney. And so it is “as-well-as”: active as well as anyone. That deserves respect and testifies to During the past 15 months the Umdasch Group a corporate culture in which a cooperative ap- has demonstrated that it can manage crises: the reactive. Decisive as well as participatory. proach counts, even in difficult times. measures had to be implemented flexibly and At umdasch The Store Makers it is hardly pragmatically, and above all quickly. And yet, al- surprising that the areas which were – and still most at the same time, we were required to set a are – worst affected by the crisis are the Lifestyle new strategic course for the future. area, in other words Fashion Retail and Premium Crisis management continues to be our con- Retail, including luxury brands and the duty-free stant companion. Our Corona Task Force still sector. In view of the major reduction in global meets regularly on Thursday mornings. We moni- demand – the lockdowns severely affected the tor our international infections on a daily basis; we retail sector in all markets – the production loca- test hundreds of employees every day. And we tions at Neidenstein in Germany and Dubai were carry out vaccinations within the company. That affected by closure or partial closure. is the only effective, long-term measure in the fight Admittedly, the change which society has under- Reactive against Covid-19. gone during recent years has frequently been As a year, 2020 was without doubt the biggest Active Managing a company was seldom as sub- driven by reactive forces. By necessities like the surprise in recent decades. We were planning for But what then? Continue in cost-saving mode? tly challenging as it has been during 2020. But I changes in the world of work. By urgent matters the best year in our history with double-figure Wait and see what happens? In the first phase of boldly maintain that in 2020 we made the best like environmental and climate protection. And growth in all areas of the company and, all in all, the crisis, securing liquidity was our top priority. out of the worst conditions. In line with our sus- also by unpredictable events. Like the coronavirus optimistic expectations of the economic situation But by the summer we had begun to map out tainability strategy, it has been proven how closely pandemic. on all sides. And until February it seemed as if we our course in the longer term through a number linked the economic and social aspects of entre- And yet I am proud that we can also be a driv- might surpass even that. of strategic investments which pointed the way preneurship really are: the regularities of the mar- ing force for some essential changes, and that we But then Covid-19 arrived, and with it a com- ahead. ket and the welfare responsibility for people, the have been able to exert a positive influence within plete standstill in March – globally and simulta- The investment in and associated coopera- financial key data and the non-financial criteria. our sectors at least. Positive because the change, neously. The uncertainty regarding our business tion with the US scaffolding manufacturer AT-PAC despite all the impartiality, demonstrates a clear was joined by our concern about the health of gives Doka in the medium and long term a second tendency – towards improvement. In our case our employees. main pillar in addition to formwork. That not only that applies to the future of the construction and In addition to an immediate investment stop, opens up a new geographic market potential, but retail sectors. In both areas we have set a course we introduced a worldwide cost-focus pro- also introduces new customer groups, for exam- during the past decade which will be decisive gramme. The aim was to ensure liquidity, since ple from the oil and gas industry or petrochemi- on our journey towards something better: for us, the development of cash flow is a major finan- cals. And this step makes Doka less dependent for our customers and partners and for entire cial success indicator or risk factor, especially in on the volatile construction sector with its sea- sectors, but also for the environment and society. a capital-intensive company like our Doka. sonal emphasis and regional economic volatility. 14 15 Decisive demand, and Digital Retail grasped the chance to reporting on key performance indicators which Harald Ziebula will be retiring after decades in The purpose of entrepreneurial activity is and translate its digital expertise into growth during will lay down our responsibility to society and the senior positions at Doka and the last four years remains corporate success. It is decisive for the this period. The Lifestyle Retail and Premium Re- environment and document our progress now as CEO. He has demonstrated his capabilities sustainable existence of any company and the tail divisions, on the other hand, returned a major and in the future. most admirably, especially as a crisis manager perspective of the people who work there. The downturn. The consolidated result was that reve- Allow me a personal comment at this point: during the past year. With his far-sightedness, crisis has changed nothing in that respect. nues were the same as during 2019. In view of the I am particularly pleased to know that this sus- his experience and his very special sense of In the spring of 2020 it soon became clear major crisis within the retail sector in conjunction tainable development will continue to be in people he has steered the company through that in a year characterised by standstill, decline with severe investment stops in retail companies, good hands in the future. Whereby I now come the coronavirus crisis better than anyone could and extensive cost-saving measures worldwide, we regard this as positive. It is evident that the at the end of my foreword to a subject in which have imagined. My thanks go to Harald in the combined with the paralysis of mobility and con- restructuring process which our shopfitters have I am intentionally addressing you, dear col- name of the Umdasch Group for his great com- siderably reduced added value, we should focus passed through in recent years, with its attendant leagues, dear customers, dear partners and mitment both with and on behalf of Doka. He our attention not on growth, but on profitability. ups and downs, has not failed to reach its target: a companions of the Umdasch Group: the gener- will continue to accompany us for a little longer By means of rapid and courageous cost sustainable and forward-looking strategy. ational change within our group of companies. after the changeover, and will pass on his exten- saving and liquidity measures it was possi- Umdasch Group Ventures used the corona- When you receive your copy of this report sive experience to his successor.